KEY POINTS
- Boko Haram members who surrendered complained of hunger and stormed the Maiduguri-Damaturu road.
- The authorities including Deputy Governor came in to solve the problem.
- The situation at the rehabilitation camp has since been contained as earlier indicated.
On Thursday morning, some of the repentant Boko Haram members who are currently undergoing a rehabilitation programme at the Hajj camp along the Maiduguri-Damaturu expressway Borno State demonstrated against hunger and hardship by blocking the expressway.
The protest, which began around 7:30 am, the fighting led to a lot of destruction before the police intervened.
Boko Haram surrendered fighters on hunger protest borno road
Witnesses says that the former combatants who have been undergoing the demobilization and reintegration process held the road in front of the camp while complaining about poor food and the general conditions within the camp. A witness, Abubakar Mujahid, testified that he saw the group standing outside the camp to protest the situation.
The Deputy Governor of Borno State and other authorities moved in almost immediately to prevent this. Another, Hajara Aminu, noted that police convoys and officials then came to the scene to interact with the protesters. We were told that the Deputy Governor came to address them. It was the effort that helped to calm the situation,” she said.
Alleviating measures of the authorities
A camp official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the problem of lack of food and allowances had been a concern in the camp the previous day. The official said he was glad that security agencies and state officials contained the situation after they waded in.
According to The Punch, We had cases of people asking for food in the camp from yesterday.” However no one expected them to behave as they did this morning. On behalf of the government, we thank God for the intervention of the DSS, the Information Commissioner, and the Deputy Governor,” the official said.
This, together with the provision of food supplies and allowances, has been done to ensure that the situation has eased in the camp.
